Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has laid special emphasis on forming a network of women leaders to ensure gender equality, saying it will act as a driving force to ensure gender equality.
She said it would play a huge role in women's empowerment. I firmly believe that we can establish a network of women leaders that will not only bring us together for a single meeting, but also act as a force to ensure practical steps towards achieving gender equality.
The Prime Minister was addressing a high-level meeting with women leaders at the invitation of the President of the UN General Assembly.
At the meeting, she also put forward three proposals to world leaders, which need to be addressed properly to ensure gender equality.
In her first proposal, the Prime Minister said, "I commend you for establishing an advisory board on gender equality." Now it needs to be localized. We need gender champions at every level, especially at the grassroots level and we can lead by setting an example.
Second, she said women-led organizations need adequate political and financial support. She noted that the United Nations has an important role to play in supporting such efforts.
In the third and final proposal, she said, “I call for a conference of leaders to strengthen our common program for gender equality. Not just us, but all leaders should join in and make a strong commitment to advance gender equality.
The Prime Minister said the impact of Covid-19 is especially difficult for women.
She added that the work of unpaid care has increased. Gender-based violence has increased. UNICEF apprehends another ten million child marriages before the end of this decade.
Mentioning the emphasis on women's empowerment in Bangladesh, she said Bangladesh is in the 7th position in the world in terms of women's political empowerment. An increasing number of women workers are joining the force.
She said about 70 percent of health workers are women and they are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic. More than 80 percent of readymade garment workers are women. Women are the majority in the informal economy. Many of them have lost their jobs and income. 20 lakh expatriate workers including women have returned to the country.
The Prime Minister said our country is at risk of turning the wheel of hard-earned progress.